The chandelier spilled a dull yellow glow across polished wood and dark leather.
One of the glass prisms trembled slightly in the smoke-filled air.
Heavy furniture sat in deliberate symmetry. Smoke curled upward toward the glass prisms above.
A deep cough broke the quiet.
Another followed, rougher than the first.
Across the table, a man in a tiger-emblem jacket watched the smoke drift.
Blood still ran slowly from the cut across his right eye.
"You should smoke less, my lord," he said flatly.
The man opposite him coughed again.
The man was middle-aged, blue-eyed, blond hair graying at the temples. His beard was trimmed, but uneven. His cigarette burned between two fingers before he crushed it into the overflowing ashtray.
"Mind your tongue."
The words came out hoarse.
Beside the older man's chair lay the bandaged man Cheolwoo had carried from the street, wrapped so tightly he barely resembled a living body.
The older man leaned back, studying him.
"So," he said.
"Cheolwoo."
His blue eyes narrowed slightly.
"The Tiger Division's golden boy." He chuckled.
"A man sent with an entire pack of wolves at his back."
His gaze drifted briefly to the unconscious body beside him.
"And yet…"
He tapped ash from the cigarette.
"You cornered a pregnant woman in a motel room…"
The cigarette hovered halfway to his mouth.
"…and lost her."
His eyes lifted.
"And all you brought back was…"
They settled directly on Cheolwoo.
"…a dead man?"
Cheolwoo met the man's gaze without blinking.
The blonde man studied him for a moment before speaking.
"That," he said calmly, "is what the realm will hear of you."
Cheolwoo remained still.
The man leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, matching the younger man's unwavering stare.
"Aren't you ashamed?"
"No."
Cheolwoo's voice was steady.
For a moment the room fell quiet.
Then his composure fractured slightly.
"…But Dara and Jeongdo weren't alone."
The blonde man leaned back in his chair.
"Say who it was."
Cheolwoo lowered his head just slightly.
"I don't know."
"I had Dara pinned down. Someone struck me from behind."
He touched the cut beneath his eye.
"Before I could see who it was, Dara drove a shard of glass in my face."
The blonde man exhaled slowly.
"Do not worry," he said calmly.
"Honorable men feel shame."
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"I'll be sure to tell Oryong…"
The cigarette glowed between his fingers.
"…in detail."
Cheolwoo opened his mouth to speak.
The blonde man raised his cigarette–
Knock. Knock.
A voice sounded from behind the door.
"This is Sugar. May I come in?"
The blonde man tapped the table twice with his finger.
The door opened.
Sugar stepped inside carrying a stack of papers.
"Greetings."
She nudged the door shut behind her with her heel and walked toward the table.
The stack of papers rested lightly in her hand.
She stopped beside the blond man's chair and extended them.
The papers slid across the back of his fingers before he tightened his grip, catching them.
For a brief moment, his blue eyes lifted to her face.
Sugar's expression remained neutral.
The man watched her a second longer than necessary.
Sugar didn't look away.
The corner of the ashtray rested inches from her hand, but she showed no sign of noticing the cigarette smoke drifting toward her face.
He said nothing, then looked down and began to read.
The first sheet lifted.
His eyes moved slowly across the page.
When he finished, he set it aside.
The paper whispered softly against the polished wood.
The next page followed.
Then another.
Each one read.
Each one placed neatly aside.
The quiet scratch of paper filled the room.
Halfway through the stack, the man leaned back slightly.
A long, tired yawn escaped him.
He covered it lazily with the back of his hand.
Then he continued.
The final sheet joined the others on the table.
The man rested both hands on his knees.
A rough cough climbed out of his chest.
Another followed, deeper.
When it passed, he lifted his eyes toward Sugar.
"Where is Dohwan's report?"
Sugar tilted her head slightly.
"Oh."
Her finger rested against her chin.
"The report on Dara's capture?"
She looked upward for a moment.
"If my memory is right…"
Her eyes returned to him.
"…courier thirty-one was meant to deliver it."
The room fell quiet again.
The man's gaze returned to the table.
The stack of papers lay neatly arranged beneath the chandelier's dull light.
"Thirty-one?"
His fingers tapped once against the wood.
Then he leaned forward slightly.
His voice dropped low, almost blending with the smoke drifting between them.
"That impudent girl… does she take me for a fool?"
The words left him barely above a whisper.
His eyes lifted again.
He flicked a hand lazily toward the door.
"Send word to the couriers." he said. "Bring thirty-one to me."
Sugar nodded.
"As you wish, my lord."
She turned toward the door.
Her hand had just reached the handle when the man spoke again.
"Also."
Sugar stopped.
"Bring me a woman."
The cigarette glowed faintly between his fingers.
"Long hair."
A thin stream of smoke slipped from his lips.
"And a body worth looking at."
Sugar turned back, simply dipped her head.
"Of course, my lord."
The door opened.
Then closed behind her with a soft click.
The blond man leaned back in his chair.
His eyes drifted across the table.
They settled on Cheolwoo.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then the blond man blew the cigarette smoke toward him.
"You're still here?"
Cheolwoo immediately rose.
He lowered his head.
"Forgive me, my lord."
He turned and walked toward the door.
Behind him, another cough broke the silence.
Cheolwoo glanced back.
The blond man had already lit another cigarette.
He wasn't looking at him.
His eyes rested lazily on the reports scattered across the table.
Smoke drifted slowly toward the chandelier.
As if Cheolwoo had already been dismissed from his thoughts.
Cheolwoo opened the door.
Then stepped out.
The door closed quietly.His jaw tightened.
Just once.
Then his face returned to its usual calm.